|
Hometown, state: Wilmington, N.C.
Age: 58
Family (spouse/partner; child, grandchildren): Wife, Ludi, and two children, ages 15 and 17.
Hobbies/Interests: Music, reading.
Favorite quote: An Italian proverb: “Vive bene, spesso l’amore, di resato molto.” Live well, love often, laugh a lot.
Date of ALS diagnosis: March 2001
Tell us about your life before ALS: I was a very active, fun-loving guy. We had a successful business and I was a letter carrier. The kids enjoyed camping and the beach.
Tell us about your life with ALS: Things have settled down since retiring. Family cruises are our new vacations. We no longer put off doing something. I still love to make others laugh. The wheelchair is my new comedy prop.
Do you have a “life motto” or profound words to live by? I never took life too seriously. I always said the clown motto were my words to live by: “A little song, a little dance, a squirt of seltzer down your pants.”
Has there been an “aha!” moment or a specific turn of events that has helped you live with ALS? After the second opinion I was so upset I prayed. During the Lord’s Prayer when I said, “Thy will be done, I said “Lord, I am in your hands,” and He instantly lifted the burden off me. He showed me that I wasn’t alone, and I have a wonderful wife, family and friends who help.
Tell us how ALS has brought new significance to any aspect of your life — family, attitude, hobbies/passions, career, etc.: I’ve learned not to waste time, and to tell the people who are close to me that I love them.
Is there anything else about you and/or ALS that you want to share with people who read your story? Learn to be a person living with ALS, not dying from it.
|
